


Firewood

by PaintedVanilla (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In-Laws, Kinda, Late Night Conversations, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 19:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13174020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: James Sr. appeared in the doorway of the dining room; he finished zipping up his jacket, then said, “I need to go get more firewood.” he glanced around the room now that he had gathered everyone’s attention, and then said, “Dolley, why don’t you come help me.”





	Firewood

**Author's Note:**

> what the fuck is this oneshot even about

It was nearing midnight, but that didn’t mean anybody sitting at the dining room table in the Madison house was thinking about going to bed anytime soon. They’d just finished their first game of dominos, which took nearly two hours to complete, and they were getting ready to start a second. Most of the family was at the table, except for Frank who had already got to bed, and Frances, who didn’t particularly like the sound the dominos made when the clacked together. The grandkids had all either been put in bed earlier or had given up at some point during the game and gone off to bed. Mary, Ambrose’s wife, was sitting on Dolley’s left side, while James was sitting on her right. Next to James was Nelly and her husband, Isaac, and on the other side of Ambrose and his wife were William and his wife Mary Lee. Eleanor and James Sr. had been sitting at the head of the table, James. Sr had gotten up to go stir the fire and then he had left the room without saying anything.

Just as they had finished distributing the dominos, James Sr. appeared in the doorway of the dining room; he finished zipping up his jacket, then said, “I need to go get more firewood.” he glanced around the room now that he had gathered everyone’s attention, and then said, “Dolley, why don’t you come help me.”

Dolley stiffened as everyone at the table glanced at her, specifically Mary, Isaac and Mary Lee, who all had a very knowing look on their faces. Dolley stood up out of her chair and followed James. Sr down the hallway to the back door, where she put on her boots and her jacket while he waited for her.

He turned the light on before they stepped outside, which illuminated part of the yard, but didn’t do much  considering how far out they would have to walk to get the wood. James Sr. held the door for Dolley and shut it behind them, and they began walking, Dolley trailing behind him since she didn’t entirely know where she was going.

It was snowing very lightly; there was a thin layer of it already covering the grass. They had only just stepped out into the yard when James Sr. asked, “You play in the snow a lot as a kid?”

Dolley was watching her feet make imprints in the snow, listening to the gentle crunch they made, “No.”

“Why’s that?” he presses.

Dolley glances up at him, then back down at the ground, “My parents didn’t want me to go outside and get all wet and cold.” she explains, “I didn’t have a jacket like yours. You know, like the snow won’t melt into it? I didn’t have one. So if I was outside for too long my clothes would get all wet.” she pauses, “plus the snow in Manhattan is kinda gross.”

James Sr. chuckles, then asks, “Where’d you learn to bake like you do?”

“Oh,” Dolley says, “I don’t know. I only started making pie when I met James because he said he liked pie. But when I still lived with my parents I made dinner every night.”

“Every night?” he asks.

“Yeah.” Dolley says, “It was like, my job. My mom taught me how to make everything when I turned twelve.”

James Sr. hesitates, then he asks, “Why don’t your parents like you?”

Dolley falters, and looks up at him, “Sorry?”

“Your parents.” he continues, “they don’t like you. You don’t seem like you’re unaware of that. At least, it was very obvious to me and Eleanor when we came up to see you in New York and to meet them.”

Dolley blushes and looks back down at her feet walking in the snow, “Yeah.”

They pause out front of the shed where they keep the firewood, and he looks down at Dolley, waiting for an answer. She hesitates, then she says, “My parents’ doctor they had when my mom was pregnant with me told them I was going to be a boy. And they really wanted a boy so they were really excited to have me. And then I was born and I wasn’t a boy. And they could only afford to have one kid, so they got to raise me instead of the son they really wanted, and I think that made them mad.”

He stares at her for a moment, then he asks, “They’re still mad about you not being a boy?”

“I mean, they’re mad about other stuff now.” Dolley says.

“Like what?”

“Like how I didn’t marry someone who was Taiwanese.” Dolley says, “They’re mad about how much money it cost to send me to college. They’re mad because I take up more space than I probably need to. They’re mad because my engagement ring is expensive. I didn’t even pick this out, I saw it for the first time when James proposed to me.”

James Sr. is quiet, and then he opens the door to the shed, “You think they’d be mad about that stuff if you were a boy?”

Dolley flushes, looking down, “Maybe.” she says, “probably not.”

He turns the light in the shed on so he can see, and Dolley follows him inside the small space. He pulls a pair of gloves out of his back pocket, slips them on, and starts going through the pile of firewood, “I think your parents are pretty shitty.”

Dolley doesn’t say anything.

He continues, “I mean, maybe I’m biased, but you know the only reason we had Frank and Ambrose is because after we had Jemmy, we wanted a girl. Doesn’t mean we care about them any less.”

“I think that’s different.” Dolley says quietly.

He glances at her, “How so?”

She blushes and looks down at her feet, “I just mean that my parents could only afford me. They could barely afford me, from the way they made it sound when I was growing up. They couldn’t just keep trying. And even if they had they probably would have liked him way more than they liked me.”

James Sr. goes back to looking through the pile of wood, “That’s why your parents are shitty.”

Dolley bites her lip, “I guess.”

James Sr. stands up straight and turns around and looks at her, clearly very troubled by this, “I mean, that’s  _ shitty,  _ Dolley.” he says, “they decided to have a kid, but they’re clearly not the kind of people who want to be good parents, because they were only gonna actually  _ try  _ to take care of the kid if it was exactly what they wanted it to be.” he pauses, “I mean, they got mad at a  _ baby  _ for not being born a boy, because that was what they wanted.”

“That was what they thought they were getting.” Dolley points out.

“That doesn’t matter,” he says, “even if they’d got what they wanted, and they’d had a boy, what if he had ended up being gay? Or transgender? Or autistic? Do you think they would have treated him any better than they treated you?”

Dolley hesitates, “No.”

He sighs, “I thought Jemmy was dating Thomas Jefferson for like, ten years.”

Dolley raises her eyebrows, “You did?”

“Do you think I loved him any less?” he asks; Dolley shakes her head, “do you think I love Frances any less? Or Will?” Dolley shakes her head again, “I love my children, Dolley, it doesn’t matter how many of them I could afford to have. Ellie and I were ready to love them no matter what they came into the world being, and no matter what they decided to become.”

Dolley looks down at her shoes, “That’s really nice.”

“It shouldn’t be ‘nice.’” he says, “it should just be what a parent does. I’m sorry your parents didn’t treat you the way you should have been treated.”

Dolley is quiet for a moment, then she says, “Thank you.”

James Sr. turns back to the pile of wood and starts picking pieces off the stack to bring back inside. Dolley takes a step forward, “I can help carry.”

“You don’t have on gloves.” he tells her.

Dolley pauses, and then pulls her jacket sleeves up over her fingertips and holds her arms out for him to hand her one to carry. He glances at her, and then huffs out a small laugh; he hands her a small piece of wood and says, “I’m very glad you’re a Madison now.”

Dolley blinks in surprise, then looks down shyly and smiles, “Me, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to imply that the James' Dad Having A Conversation With The Person One Of His Kids Is Marrying/Is Married To was like,,,,,, a thing that has happened? like it's a thing he does??? i feel like i did a bad job of conveying that but like,,,,,,,, this isn't supposed to be as unprompted as it came across as
> 
> this whole fic is! a mess! it's so awkward gewrhwifjbhegi i'm so sorry 
> 
> shout out to thundercaya for asking me after i wrote Pop Quiz if i had intended to write frances as an autistic character. i hadn't but i Snatched that headcanon and now here we are
> 
> lemme know if anything i Did or Said in this fic is bad bc i care about not putting bad stuff out into the world


End file.
